Homesickness?

Student Lounge College Life
1

<p>This is mostly for people who went out-of-state for their college experience, though people who stayed in-state can probably also answer this for me. How homesick were you during your freshman year? When did you stop feeling that way, and how did you beat it? Did it ever get to the point where you broke down and felt like just coming back home?</p>

<p>I mainly ask this because although I applied to many out-of-state schools, from the time I sent my applications to the day I got results I became very comfortable, and happy with, the idea of going to the University of Florida. It's a two and a half hour drive from my hometown. Many of my colleges were reaches so I grew to assume that I was going to UF and it became a place I could picture myself being. But of course, life got complicated with an acceptance to UC Berkeley. Don't get me wrong, it's a great opportunity and a blessing that a lot of people would like to have. But I'm afraid to take it. I'm visiting Berkeley next week so I think I'll have a better idea of what I'd like to do. But I digress... My real questions aren't related to these specific schools and what one I should pick over the other. I mostly just would like to know about others' experiences so I can learn some things from them.</p>

2

<p>I went 10 hours away from home, and the homesickness was pretty bad for about the first month or two. I didn’t let that keep me from doing things; I was just calling home a lot and crying every once in a while because I hadn’t seen my family in a while. I also got bouts of homesickness when I got sick, but that was more just not wanting to be sick and wanting to be in my own bed.</p>

<p>I think the best thing to do when you’re homesick is to spend time with your friends at school. Just doing things can take your mind off of homesickness. Also, if you know exactly why you like your school in the first place, that helps you keep going. I also keep in close touch with my family through calls and IMs.</p>

3

<p>If you keep busy with academics, activities, friends, new experiences, volunteering you don’t have time to be homesick.
You have to put yourself out there. Say yes.
Make a policy to keep up with your schoolwork so you can do spontaneous things when people ask, like skiing at Tahoe (2 hours from Berkeley) or going into San Francisco.
Learning to be okay alone is part of growing up.</p>